Here's How Many Whiskey Stones To Use In Your Drink

Chilling your drink without diluting it is crucial when you're sipping whiskey on the rocks. To help ensure you're not drinking whiskey-tinged water by the end, you can use actual rocks instead of ice. Whiskey rocks are ice-cube-sized blocks that can be made of marble, granite, or similar stone-like materials or even stainless steel. One of their most important properties is that they are non-porous, so they don't react with your drink in any way except for chilling it.

In addition to being reusable, whiskey stones can also cool down in as little as a couple of hours, which is less than the time needed to freeze large ice cubes. Small ice cubes will freeze faster but also melt quickly and can over-dilute your drink. But while most people generally know how many cubes of ice they like in their drink, trying to figure out how many rocks are needed for the same effect can get a little confusing. We asked the co-founders of Lodestar Whiskey, Anna Axster and Wendelin von Schroder, what they thought of whiskey stones and how many they use when sipping on their favorite dram. 

Since most whiskey stones don't get as cold as ice, you'll need at least a couple in your glass to get the same effect. Anna Axster takes an easy, straightforward approach here, saying: "Feel free to toss in as many whiskey stones as you want! Since they're not the best at chilling your whiskey though, adding more stones (probably lots more) will help if you're after a colder drink."

Though you can reasonably use a bunch of whiskey stones, even a fistful of them will not get your drink looking frosty. So, they're best used in situations where you want to merely lower the temperature of your libation, like when you're enjoying a finely crafted and aged liquor that brings plenty of nuance to the class. Overchilling such a drink could mute that experience. The upside is that you can add as many rocks as you need without worrying about dilution. Even if you enjoy taking your time, you can always switch out warmed whiskey stones with fresh cold ones.

For a standard 1.5 or 2-ounce pour of whiskey, two whiskey stones are usually enough. That's because you don't want your whiskey to get too chilled. If you're having a double, you can have up to 4 whiskey stones in your glass. Adding more than that will make the drink cumbersome to sip, not to mention heavy with the weight of the cold mini-boulders. For a highball cocktail, which is generally served chilled, stick to 2-3 stones and use a refrigerated mixer and frosty glass to keep things cold. With flavored cocktails where a little dilution isn't so noticeable, we'd recommend sticking with ice cubes. You can also use your ice tray to make flavored ice cubes so that when they melt, they actually add to your drink's tasting notes instead of diluting them.